There's still some unfinished business for a couple of Arkansas River Valley football teams to tend to before two-a-days begin.

Russellville and Atkins are scheduled to take part in Saturday's state 7-on-7 tournament at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock. The double-elimination tournament is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and continue through most of the day.

Russellville, the tournament's top overall seed, is scheduled to open at 11:20 a.m. against the winner of Region 5. Atkins will take on Mayflower at 10 a.m.

The scene is familiar to one area team and brand new to the other. The Cyclones have won seven straight Region 2 tournaments, including this year's, and are no strangers to the state tournament.

However, Atkins -- which recently received a spot in Saturday's tournament after Morrilton decided not to participate -- will be making its first appearance.

The Red Devils finished third, behind Russellville and Morrilton, in the regional tournament, which was held earlier this month at Arkansas Tech.

"We've been playing in the regional tournament for the past three or four years now and have just barely missed going to state," Atkins coach Charlie Sorrels said. "We're tickled to death to be going. I think it's going to be good experience for everyone, and the kids are excited. It's going to be a good opportunity."

That opportunity will no doubt provide a challenge as well. With many of the state's top teams on hand, the action is sure to be closely contested.

"It'll be a highly-competitive tournament as usual," RHS coach Jeff Holt said. "There will be some really good teams there. It won't be anything easy because it will all be really competitive."

There won't be much in the way of running plays seen in Saturday's action, as 7-on-7 features predominantly passing offenses. While many top teams pride themselves on running the ball, there will still be plenty of high-powered teams on hand.

"I'm sure there's going to be some of the best passing teams in the state there," Sorrels said. "There's going to be a lot of tough competition."

That tough competition, as always, will make capturing the tournament title challenging. While doing that is the ultimate goal, there can still be quite a bit accomplished playing in such an event

"We just want to continue getting better. Especially since we're so young," Holt said. "Having all these young kids that are new to this type of competition makes it good for us that we're in this situation."

The Red Devils have similar situations, and Sorrels sees just being in the state tournament as beneficial.

"I think the biggest thing will be the experience," Sorrels said. "I think it'll be good experience for the kids. We're just trying to get better. If we win, fine. If not, then we just want to get all the experience we can."

So, what's it going to take to do well this Saturday?

"We've got to execute on offense and take care of the football," Holt said. "We've just got to go out there and play catch and stay away from the turnovers. If you can get stops and not turn the ball over, then you can do really well in 7-on-7."

Things have gone pretty well for the Cyclones already. In fact, even Holt has been shocked at times with the success his young RHS team has had.

"I've been surprised at times with how well we've played, being as young as we are," Holt said.

That makes things look brighter in terms of being prepared for the upcoming season. Holt said he hopes to use Saturday's games as a springboard into working on that preparation.

"We just want to make sure we build on our confidence level," Holt said. "We had a lot of confidence coming out of the regional tournament. We just want to get better and win a few games, and we'll see what happens."

Both area coaches are hoping what happens includes having a strong transition to two-a-days. Atkins is scheduled to start its summer workouts July 31, while Russellville will open drills Aug. 1.